“Rhazan,” he says, extending his hand.
I lift mine tentatively and he grasps it. A sudden burn sears my wrist like a hot iron. I gasp, trying to pull away, but he has a firm grip on me.
“What are you doing?”
“Hold still,” he says.
The heat under my skin reaches a crescendo that forces a whimper from my lips. I yank my hand back and look at mywrist. Two wings of smoke and fire cage around a four-pointed jade-green star.
“You’re under my protection now,” Rhazan says. “If Skreet comes here again, he’ll know the consequences of harming you by this mark.”
It’s pretty rad looking, but also I didn’t ask for a glowing tattoo, or his protection.
“What the fuck! You can’t just…brand me,” I sputter, following after him as he moves toward the back.
“And yet I just did.”
“Rhasshole,” I shout.
He stops in his tracks, his shoulders climbing up to his ears.
I hold up my arm. “Take this off.”
He turns back to me slowly, and there’s something more predatory in his walk, something truly dangerous.
“Do you want to know what it feels like to be feasted upon by hundreds of dog-sized cockroaches? Would you like your grandmother and your little brother to be eaten? Thiswhole town?”
I swallow, but nothing helps the heat growing in my chest. “No.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“Just ask permission next time,” I say in a voice far too small for how justified I feel.
His face softens, the line in his forehead disappearing. His jaw flexes and his gaze darts away from me. Then he licks his bottom lip, exposing fangs.
“I…apologize for not asking for your consent. I make decisions quickly,” he says and then murmurs, “Too quickly, sometimes.”
Holy shit, I got an apology out of him. Maybe he’s not an asshole. Maybe I should thank him for saving my skin last night and protecting me and my family.
“Accepted. And I’m grateful for this…agreement,” I say, brushing my thumb over the mark.
He closes his eyes and a full-body shiver moves down from his shoulders to the flick of his spade-tipped tail.
“What was that?” I ask.
He takes a deep breath and then clears his throat. “Nothing. You can call me like that. It sends a sort of message to me, and I’ll know you need me.”
He turns around and heads back for the freezer. I thumb over the spot again and he shivers, then growls.
“You cannot just do it anytime you please! I will stop coming!”
“Okay, okay,” I laugh. “Sorry.”
He huffs and smoke curls from his nostrils. “Show me the wards you’re going to use.”
I uncrumple the page from Nai Nai and fold it open for him. His fingers trace the symbols and he grunts.
“These are an appropriate stopgap.”
